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Subscriber Exclusive Content. At birth, a baby llama called a cria can weigh between 20 pounds 9 kilograms to 30 pounds 14 kilograms. Llama ears are rather long and slightly curved inward, characteristically known as banana shaped. There is no dorsal hump. Feet are narrow, the toes being more separated than in the camels, each having a distinct plantar pad. Their tail is short and their fibre is long, woolly and soft. Average Life Span: 15 — 20 years Average Gestation: — days Number of Offspring: Usually single births Weaning: 5 — 6 months Average Weight: — lbs Average Height: 4 feet — 4 feet 5 inches at shoulder height — 5 feet — 5 feet 6 inches at head height.
Sound: Just a gentle hum, however, when they are upset or frightened they can make a shrill alarm sound. Temperament: Calm, friendly, slightly shy and very intelligent. Health: Few vet problems; worming — 2 or 3 times a year; vaccination against clostridial diseases and tetanus once a year. Land requirement : Maximum 4 — 6 per acres. Shelter: Although very hardy, llamas do need access to a field shelter to protect them from bad weather elements.
Fencing: Standard stock fencing. Feeding: Grazing during the summer. In winter, grazing supplemented with hay and a small hard feed daily. Llamas need fresh water available at all times.
Shearing: As with sheep, llamas require shearing through summer to prevent heat stroke. Stomach Compartments: 3 Toes per foot: 2 Name for baby llama: Cria. The Llama is a very intelligent animal and very easy to train. In just one to five repetitions they will learn and remember many skills. Llamas can be trained to do lots of things such as accept a halter, being led on a lead and they can be trained to get in and out of a vehicle, and they can also be trained to pull a cart or carry a pack.
Llamas are very sociable animals but they do need the companionship of their own kind. Llamas are a very gentle, shy and a very curious animal. Llamas are calm in nature and have common sense, which make them easy for anyone, even children to handle.
Llamas are very enjoyable animals and they are fun to do things with, however, most llamas do not seek affection and they prefer not to be handled excessively. Llamas communicate with each other by ear position, body language, spitting and humming. Llamas usually only spit at other llamas to establish dominance and do not spit at people. The habit of spitting is a defence mechanism.
Llama wool is processed just like sheeps wool, by shearing the fur annually. A single llama can produce about 4 pounds of wool, which tends to be lite weight and very warm. The llama is a sacred animal in the culture of the Andean people, who call them "silent brothers".
Images of llamas appear throughout the art of the culture dating back thousands of years, and occur almost as often as images of the sun. The llama is, in fact, a relatively quiet animal, communicating with a series of clicks, gurgles and hums, and it is also remarkably clean, with little of the odor one might expect from such a large animal.
Their dung is surprisingly low-odor as well, and most llamas will use the same place to relieve themselves, making them easy to clean up after. Unlike the camel, however, llamas need fresh water daily, although they drink considerably less than a horse or cow of comparable size.
Our domestic partner for thousands of years, the llama was used as a food source, its milk was used to make an assortment of dishes, its wool was used to make blankets and traditional clothing, its dung was used as fertilizer, and in dried form, could be burned for fuel. Over the years, modern conveniences have overtaken the importance of the llama in civilization, but this peaceful, beautiful animal, which comes in an assortment of fabulous colors and seeks out human attention, has found its way into all corners of the world not just as a source of wool, but as a companion animal.
Llamas and alpacas as pets number in the hundreds of thousands in the United States. Kept simply as pets, their neat habits and social personalities had made them very popular. They require minimum shelter and are not fussy about food. In a very convenient remnant of their wild days, when they needed to mark the perimeters of their territories, all members of the herd use a communal "dung pile" , so cleaning up the pasture is a snap. As a testimony to the popularity of these creatures, an activity known as "llama trekking" is offered by some llama farms, where visitors pay a fee to lead a llama around the property on a little nature walk.
Llamas are herd animals that live in large social groups and need company desperately. Solitary llamas will bond with other animals in an attempt to ease their loneliness. The natural process is for dominant males to gather a harem of females and guard them from the intrusion of other males. So farmers have found a way to exploit the natural guarding tendencies of the male llama, by using them as a kind of sheepdog. A single male llama introduced to a herd of sheep, alpaca, or similar smaller herding animal, will quickly become attached, claim the herd as their own, and defend them, quite successfully from animals such as fox and coyote.
Llamas, as it turns out, can be incredibly brave, bold, and fearless in the face of predators, but in the face of multiple attackers or larger animals like mountain lions or wolves, the llama is very vigilant and will sound a piercing alarm.
Occasionally, ranchers have reported stories of scuffles overheard in the night, and the trampled bodies of coyotes, wolves and even small bears being found in the llama pen in the morning - Amazing!
Lllamas are like stallions in that adult males left intact can be difficult to handle, may pester and constantly try to mount females and even other animals, and may fight, sometimes violently, with other intact males.
At two years of age, young male llamas sprout 6 new teeth designed specifically for fighting, and appropriately called "fighting teeth.
Male llamas will use them against eachother by slashing at ears, legs, and even genitals! That's a real stunner as far as llama facts go! Fighting teeth are removed from most llamas as soon as they come in, and most male llamas that are not used for breeding are gelded, just like stallions, making them much safer to have around.
When breeding, a single male llama is usually kept with a small herd of females, and without competition, things remain peaceful. Llamas and alpacas are one of the few animals that mate with the female in a kush position, lying with her legs folded under her.
Female llamas have a long pregnancy of 11 months. The other females will gather around the mother when she's ready to deliver, calming her, and looking out for danger. She usually has a two-part labor, where the head first appears, and then she may stand around for a few minutes with the babies head and front feet protruding, before pushing again. Llamas generally give birth standing up, and the baby is stimulated by dropping to the ground.
The llamas tongue doesn't stick out far from the mouth, so she doesn't lick the baby as most mammal mothers do. They generally have a single baby, and the baby llama is called a cria, which is a Spanish word for baby.
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